This disclosure relates to windshields wipers and automatic control of the headlights on a vehicle. Several vehicle manufacturers provide a system in which the headlights on a vehicle illuminate in response to the windshield wipers being turned ON. It is known to automatically turn ON the windshield wipers based on a wiper switch, which controls the operation of the windshield wipers, being turned to an ON position. Automatically turning ON the windshield wipers based on a wiper switch ON signal can result in the headlights rapidly turning ON and OFF, if the wiper switch is rapidly turned ON and OFF. For example, if the driver of vehicle turns ON the windshield wipers to clean the windshield and the headlights turn automatically ON in response to the wipers being ON, when the operator quickly turns the wipers ON and OFF, the lights can quickly turn ON and OFF. To oncoming traffic, this can look like the driver of the vehicle is flickering the headlights.
It is also known to automatically turn ON the windshield wipers based on detecting a predetermined number of wiper operations. A wiper operation is when the wipers complete a single back and forth stroke. For example, the headlights can turn ON after detecting three wiper operations. In this known process, however, if the wipers are turned OFF before the predetermined number of wiper operations have occurred, then a counter, which counts the number of wiper operations, resets so that an additional predetermined number, e.g. three, wiper operations must be detected before the headlights will turn ON.
Also, where the lights turn automatically OFF when the wipers are turned OFF, if the driver quickly turns the wipers back ON, this can also look like flickering lights to oncoming traffic.